Talk:Values-planks-GOP2008
The 2008 Platform Committee received public input through a website. Ultimately more than 13,000 comments were received and considered. The following is a sampling of those comments: (Newt Gingrich - Washington, DC) LnM4kZ7vgVo (James - Boston, MA) Jjg7elB1sR4 (America Forward And - New York, NY) GH36JrpW_Tg Comments (Lee - Georgetown, TX) The Second Amendment should have read..”An armed populace being necessary to the security of a free society, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.” This concept is at the root of the American experience. It defines us. Other countries hate us because they still believe that the average citizen is a moron that must be controlled. If Americans were not thoughtful, slow to anger, and reluctant to commit violence, Washington would be a graveyard. We do not need keepers. (Cliff - Portland, OR) The 2nd Amendment says that the reason for the right of the people to keep and bear arms is the necessity of a well-regulated militia for the security of a free state. Not for hunting or antique collecting. We will only have a secure free state if the people keep and bear arms and can regulate a militia well. The assumption that the state regulates the militia is not in the Constitution. Article I, Section 8 says that Congress shall “provide for the calling forth of the militia” to repel invasion, suppress insurrection and execute the laws of the United States. (Thomas - Shelby, OH) We should get out of Afghanistan and Iraq immediately. We should never have went to those places in the first place. Our meddling in affairs in the Middle East (and aiding their enemyIsrael) is the reason were are hated by the Arabs. Now theyhate us even more and they don't forget - for centuries. All this military escapade has done for us is ensure that our great grandchildren will still be worried about terrorism. We shouldcome home and mind our own business. Empire building is immoral, anti-American and foolish foreign policy. (Megan - Acton, MA) The core American values are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Freedom is the one that makes the other two values possible. One cannot pursue happiness if one is not free to do so; one cannot lead a fulfilling life if one is not free to do so. Religious freedom is a large piece of this, and religious freedom includes freedom from religion as well as freedom of religion. The government has no right to dictate anyone's religious beliefs, and must therefore remain secular, allowing citizens to choose their own beliefs. (Ronald - Redwood City, CA) One of the most important principles that the Founders of our country sought to protect was that of religious freedom. They sought to create a separation of Church and State via the First Amendment to our Constitution. I firmly believe that placing that, along with freedom of the press, as the first of the Constitutional amendments was no accident. To fully support American values, one must support, as Thomas Jefferson stated, “a wall of separation” between government and religion. (Ruth - St. Louis, MO) Keep the pro-life plank located in the 2004 platform in the “Protecting Our Families” section under “Promoting a Culture of Life” without change in the 2008 platform. The Republican Party is the pro-life party. The greatest distinction between the Republican Party and the Democrat Party is the protection of our inalienable right to life. Any change to this section will lessen the integrity of the Republican Party and cost it votes in November. (Bernd - Albuquerque, NM) I personally think each abortion is a tragic event. However, 75% of them are carried out by those that claim to be Catholic or Protestant. Seems like some folks are not practicing what they preach. Anyhow, this is a divisive issue that has no real solution since the country is pretty much split. I like Ron Paul's idea that Roe vs. Wade should be overturned, and, whether or not an abortion is performed, should be mandated by the states themselves. Let communities at least at the state level decide for themsleves. (Natalia - Trinity, FL) On the issue of same-sex marriage- it should be illegal in all states. I am a young, bible reading, conservative and this is a very important issue to me and anyone who cares about the fate of this great nation. Our forefathers who founded this nation on biblical principles would abhor and protest same-sex marriage, and so would Jesus Christ (clearly the Bible calls homosexuality a sin). Thus, it is imperative to get our country on the right path, to give morals back to society, so that one day, I (and anyone else) can have and raise children in a good and wholesome society. I am proud of my country and my American soldiers. God bless them and I look forward to voting for McCain in November. NK (Jim - Wichita, KS) The family is the core unit of any sucessful society. The Father & Mother working together to instill values, educate and nuture children is the ONLY proven method that works consistently. We must not knuckle under to those who would undermine this structure. We cannot permit the foundation of the nation to be eroded for the sake of being broadminded or accepting. The personal choices of citizens in their private lives are just that, but they should not be imbedded in public policey. (Paul - Carrollton, TX) Adult stem cells have consistently shown promise and results. Fetal stem cells, conversely, have shown little to no positive results and leads to abortion just to harvest these cells which should be inconsistent with our platform. Our platform should reject fetal stem cell research and promote adult stem cell research only. (Cliff - Portland, OR) The 2nd Amendment says that the reason for the right of the people to keep and bear arms is the necessity of a well-regulated militia for the security of a free state. Not for hunting or antique collecting. We will only have a secure free state if the people keep and bear arms and can regulate a militia well. The assumption that the state regulates the militia is not in the Constitution. Article I, Section 8 says that Congress shall “provide for the calling forth of the militia” to repel invasion, suppress insurrection and execute the laws of the United States. (Gerry - Scottsdale, AZ) Holding on to the most conservative pro-life stance as a party keeps away from our membership many who hold moderate views on abortion but share our economic, foreign policy and size of government views. It is time that we moved away from the dichotomy of “pro-life” and “pro-choice.” Most Americans share neither position but have a liberal attitude toward first term abortion and a conservative attitude toward late term abortion. We should take this contentious issue off the national agenda and make ourselves more attractive to middle-of-the-road voters who share most of our agenda.